A Sacrifice Was Made #296

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

These two verses possibly contain the most important word in the entire New Testament. In the English language it is three words, but in the Greek language it is only one. The Greek word Tetelestai means; it is finished.

Jesus had been hanging on the cross for almost six hours. His body was already beaten, bleeding, racked with pain and

death was near. Dehydration was causing Him to be extremely thirsty. He spoke from the cross the words, “I am thirsty.” Sour wine was placed on a sponge and placed on a long pole. The pole gave the men at the bottom of the cross the ability to reach the mouth of Jesus. He tasted the sour wine and then refused it.

His next word was Tetelestai.  “It is finished.” The word was to the people watching a word of defeat, but instead it was a great word of victory. What Jesus said was not, “I am finished.” It was not “I am dead.” The word from Jesus meant, “IT WAS FINISHED.” It was the third person singular perfect tense. It referred to the completed work that Jesus had come to earth to accomplish. He knew that all things had already been accomplished to fulfill the Scripture He gave up His spirit. He died, but IT WAS FINISHED. The death of Jesus procured salvation for all mankind. His death was for the sins of all people. The sacrifice and substitutionary death of Jesus meant that anyone who believes would be forgiven and given eternal life.

IT IS FINISHED meant that a sacrifice had been once and for all completed. No longer was another sacrifice needed. God sent His Son as the substitute for every sinner. 2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

(NAS) He died for you. No other sacrifice is needed. “IT IS FINISHED.”

_________________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

Hope you had a wonderful Easter. Mine was interesting for this reason. I was about half way through my sermon when the fire alarms went off. They were loud and of course we had to exit the building. We stood out on the sidewalk as we watched the fire truck enter the parking lot. We were outside about 15 minutes when the all clear was sounded. We re-entered the building and I picked up where I had left off. The congregation didn't know, but I had an extra long sermon. By breaking it into two parts no one noticed. God works in mysterious ways. It made for an interesting service. Someone told me I was really "on fire."

Sandy and I had  our children and grandsons over for lunch. We also had our friends the Symingtons. After a great meal we ended the day with the Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Justin found another use for his Easter Basket. As soon as everyone left I took a LONG NAP.

One of my fun things to do in retirement is to chaperone school groups. This week I will go with the band at Collin's school for an all morning event. It is fun to be with the kids and teachers; and also listen to some great middle school bands. Collin plays the trumpet and  also percussion. He played the drums for our Sunday worship service a week ago. He had never done that before. Needless to say he was a little nervous, but did a great job. Looks like he may start playing two weeks out of the month. 

I will continue to preach most Sundays until August. This coming Sunday I will be preaching in the LOFT at First Baptist Church of Tempe at 9:30 AM. We are almost done with the Book of Revelation. You can hear or read the sermons on line at: http://fbctempe.sermons.io/speakers/dennis-wood

Many of you have been telling me you have enjoyed the sermons. Thanks for taking time to listen. 

Sandy has finished teaching for this Spring. Her class on Esther ended on Tuesday. She has so enjoyed her Young Moms. She loves them so much and enjoys teaching the Bible to them. Her teaching is so practical. 

Burke and Bennett are both in their school musical for the next two Friday and Saturday nights. The musical is "The Sound of Music." As an upper class man and a very talented young man Bennett has one of the leads. It should be great. 

As always I appreciate your prayers for my health. I have so many ups and downs. I do not know when I get up in the morning if the day is going to be good or if the cancer causes me to feel poorly. Two weeks ago I mentioned what a great week I had. This past week was not so good; a return of pain and fatigue.  I also received some reports from labs that measure the cancer itself. They are called cancer markers. All are highly elevated. In some cases two to four times normal. There is a new chemotherapy that is having good results on my type of cancer. I am currently applying for upcoming trials of the drug. Please pray that I can get into this trial study. The FDA has just approved it. There is only one doctor and one hospital in the Phoenix area doing this treatment; and only 4 or 5 in the entire country. I would really appreciate your prayers. 

I am so blessed to continue most of my activities; just not a quickly, or as much as in the past.

Blessings or all of you. I pray God will give you spiritual illumination of His Word as you read and study the Bible. I pray the Holy Spirit will give you spiritual insight into His work in your life. 

Love you all.  ~ DGW